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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724812">Paper Stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/trxffs/pseuds/trxffs'>trxffs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Given (Anime), Given (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Japanese Lucky Stars, M/M, Mentions of Mafuyu - Freeform, Prompt Fic, Valentine's Day, mentions of yuki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:20:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/trxffs/pseuds/trxffs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>『 The room was silent now, save for the rapid beating that only he could hear. He had fallen in love, and with none other than his best friend. 』</p><p>Alternatively, Hiiragi comes to an important decision and takes the necessary steps.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kashima Hiiragi/Yagi Shizusumi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Paper Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueswanson/gifts">blueswanson</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Dedicated to my new friend Emrys who came to me after reading It's You and suggested an art trade. It was my pleasure to write this! Sorry I kept teasing and saying I was nearly finished and then spending more hours on it,,,, I just kept coming up with more things to write. </p><p>I must toot my own horn here. 3,402 words?? My university essays are never this long.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Valentines wasn’t something that the four of them had celebrated together. Mafuyu insisted to Yuki many times that it wasn’t something he was personally fussed about but alas when the day came around, they were nowhere to be found. For Hiiragi, it was just a single day out of 365, filled with confusion that bred annoyance. <i>Really what was the point? What was so special about it? Why should there be a designated day just for showing affection to people after all?</i></p><p>—-<br/>
<b>“It’s literally just a day to show off how much time they have on their hands. Who needs that.” Hiiragi huffed, internally denying any hint of jealousy and turning away from a couple stood in the classroom who were surely exchanging store bought chocolates disguised as homemade ones.</b></p><p>
  <b>Shizusumi gave the couple a brief glance before standing up from his desk to follow Hiiragi out with his bag slung over his shoulder.</b><br/>
—-
</p><p>That used to be his stance on the subject at least, but after Mafuyu had ceased contact and dropped off the face of the earth after their friend’s funeral, he was left with only one person to turn to for comfort.</p><p>Hiiragi was hit with the sudden realisation out of the blue one day during band practise after school. Half of his concentration was focused on the notes he was currently playing and the other half was spent mentally preparing the lyrics he was about to sing.</p><p>The blond counted down along with the opening’s beat and with a deep breath he tilted forward over his guitar and started to sing into the studio mic.</p><p>Getting absorbed within their songs was always a feeling Hiiragi loved. The energy and raw emotion that seeped into every cord, every lyric having a meaning, sometimes even hidden - like a forbidden secret that only they knew of. It was thrilling.</p><p>Riding this wave of adrenaline, Hirragi finished the line of lyrics and swung his body sideways and craned his head over to smile at Shizusumi playing the drums.</p><p>It was then, watching the other effortlessly strike the drum heads with such a passion and speed, the glint in his characteristically bored eyes betraying just how much fun he was having, that Hiiragi’s smile faltered and his breath caught.</p><p>It was as if the world had hit pause on everything but the hammering of his heart and the racing of his mind. He could hardly register their sound anymore, almost as though the music was coming from the room next door.</p><p>It wasn’t until Hiiragi noticed the shift in Shizusumi’s face that he clicked back into reality, blinking from where his eyes had dried from spacing out. The room was silent now, save for the rapid beating that only he could hear.</p><p>He had fallen in love, and with none other than his best friend.</p><p>“You okay?” Shizusumi questioned, quirking his eyebrow up.</p><p>“Uhh. Yeah I’m fine…” Hiiragi closed his mouth and looked away to avoid bringing attention to the growing heat in his face.</p><p>“Just… got caught up in the moment. How about we take a break?” The blond quickly suggested, already propping his bass against the wall.</p><p>Shizusumi acknowledged his suggestion with a brief hum and watched as Hiiragi pulled a water bottle out from his bag and hastily escaped the room, his eyes watching his friend’s back until he disappeared. The raven looked away from the door and gave a confused stare to the other band member in the room. They only shrugged in response.</p><p>Weeks went by and Hiiragi learnt to adapt to the new weight of his discovery. That was, only during band practise however. During school and walking home after class was another matter entirely. He was constantly in Shizusumi’s company, not that he minded… but it was hard to focus on answering the current math test when the object of his affection was sitting just 4 feet away, the breeze from the open window blowing through his hair and the sun framing his face so perfectly.</p><p><i>Oh to be the wind right now…</i> Hiiragi sighed internally.</p><p>He learnt that at band practise he just needed to resist the urge to turn around and face Shizusumi. That was easier said than done though. The flow of music is a powerful thing. It was hard to resist moving around to face their drummer during an intense moment but Hiiragi felt like his heart really depended on it. Feeling like it’s going to burst, or jump out of his chest surely wasn’t a healthy sign. Nonetheless, it didn’t stop him from stealing quick glances from time to time. Nothing would be able to stop that.</p><p>It was mid January by the time Hiiragi had made a solid decision about his feelings. Nervousness set in his stomach as he began to formulate a plan on just how he would confess his feelings to Shizusumi.</p><p>Popular belief was that folding paper stars and placing them in jars with the intention of giving them to those you meet as gifts was seen as a lucky fortune. Each specific amount of stars accounted to a certain meaning.</p><p>Upon research into the tradition, Hiiragi grew fond of each and every one of the meanings. First he had to decide on just how many he wanted to make.</p><p>After pondering on an answer for a moment he looked over at his calendar hung on his wall.</p><p>“Tenth of January, huh… that leaves me with…” He slowly counted the days up to Valentine’s Day.</p><p>“Thirty four days. Doesn’t seem too bad. I can totally do that.” He said rather confidently, looking back at the list and smiling softly.</p><p>
  <i>Nine hundred ninety nine. Everlasting love. Yeah, I like the sound of that.</i>
</p><p>Filled with determination and excitement, Hiiragi rushed out with his coat half on and went to buy some coloured paper to get started. By his calculations, he would have to make an average of thirty paper stars a day in order to reach his goal. In hindsight, it seemed like an easy, reasonable number but cutting out thirty individual strips of paper and correctly folding them turned out to be quite a repetitive and daunting task by the end of the day.</p><p>Hiiragi felt a sense of accomplishment once he had succeeded in correctly folding the days' thirty and one by one, placed them in the jar, not forgetting to remind himself of the meanings each time the amount reached a goal.</p><p>“One. The only love.” The first one landed.</p><p>“Two. The happy and compatible couple.” The second star bounced.</p><p>He carried on filling the jar with the rest of the stars until he had the final one left.</p><p>“Thirty. Love for the lifetime.”</p><p>Hiiragi lifted the jar up against the light coming through his bedroom window and grinned, a slight blush dusting his cheeks.</p><p>The following day was the start of the weekend and Hiiragi took his time making another thirty on Saturday using the same colour paper that he used before.</p><p>“Fifty five. Love you without any regret.”</p><p>As he placed the fifty fifth star into the jar his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled the device out and opened it up to see that he had a text from Shizusumi.</p><p>〈From: Shizu<br/>
Hey. Want to practice today?〉</p><p>The blond quickly glanced over at the remaining strips of paper that he had to fold and typed a reply.</p><p>〈To: Shizu<br/>
Sure. You’ll have to meet me there, I’ve got something I need to finish first.〉</p><p>Hiiragi put down his phone and continued to fold the rest of the stars. He only needed to make five more before heading off to meet Shizusumi. So concentrated on his task, he didn’t notice the curious ‘?’ he got back from his friend.</p><p>For the following week after school, the band would practise and Hiiragi would hurry home to complete another thirty stars before heading to bed.</p><p>“Ninety nine. May the love last forever.” Two more stars were added into the jar before he spoke again.</p><p>“One hundred and one. You are the only one in my life.”</p><p>The fifth day of making stars marked the last milestone for quite a while as he dropped the one hundred and twenty ninth star in with the others.</p><p>“One hundred and twenty nine. Borderless love.”</p><p>As the next week rolled on, Hiiragi started getting used to the routine of attending classes, showing for band practise and shooting home to meet the day’s star quota. He would have insisted on taking the strips of paper to school with him to sneakily make a few during class but he didn’t want to risk Shizusumi seeing the process and question him about it.</p><p>By the twenty second of January, Hiiragi had reached the next goal of three hundred and sixty five stars. By this stage the jar was almost half full and was decorated with various layers of pastel coloured paper.</p><p>“Three hundred and sixty five. A whole year of blessing.” Hiiragi yawned. Once he had finished folding, he glanced over at his alarm clock and his stomach dropped. It was half past two in the morning… on a Wednesday night… shit.</p><p>Least to say he almost missed homeroom and earned a rather worried glare from Shizusami when he crashed through the door. If the raven noticed his slightly crooked tie and messy hair, he didn’t comment on it.</p><p>On the twenty eighth of January, Hiiragi reached the second to last milestone, a grand total of five hundred and forty eighty stars stood proudly in the jar. The meaning of five hundred and forty eight stars represented the wish of loving a person endlessly. Something Hiiragi hoped that he and Shizusumi would have the fortune of experiencing.</p><p>A new month began and the love struck boy was starting to get a bit restless, noticing that the deadline was fast approaching. He started to doubt whether or not he would be able to actually pull this project off in time.</p><p>In a blind panic, Hiiragi decided to increase the average amount of stars he was to make a night. He pushed himself to the limit over the weekend and managed to fold a total of one hundred stars.</p><p>The late nights were starting to show during lunch period and Shizusumi couldn’t ignore his best friend’s obvious exhaustion caused by whatever secret he was hiding.</p><p>“Come with me.” The boy grabbed Hiiragi’s wrist as the other startled at the contact.</p><p>“H-huh? What- where are we going?”</p><p>“You look like you’re about to collapse. We’re skipping and going to the infirmary so you can rest.”</p><p>Hiiragi stared at the back of Shizusumi’s head, mouth gaping as he was dragged along. <i>Wait. What. Hold on.</i> Could he really tell he was <i>that</i> tired?</p><p>“But I’m hungry…” He mumbled.</p><p>“I’ll buy you something to eat after.”</p><p>The pair entered the medical room and Shizusumi let go once they reached one of the beds. Hiiragi was expecting him to turn and leave but stared back in shock as his best friend lifted the blanket up and got in, leaving it open for Hiiragi to slide under.</p><p>“Eh?” Is all Hiiragi managed to say as he stood frozen on the spot beside the bed.</p><p>“Get in and get some sleep.” Shizusumi ordered.</p><p>Without a second thought the blond jerked forward at the command and curled up beside the warm body. The moment his head hit the pillow, all of his pent up fatigue flooded his system and it was a struggle to stay conscious. He really wanted to savour this moment with Shizusumi but the last thing that he remembered before blacking out was the therapeutic sensation of fingers running through his hair.</p><p>It seemed like only minutes later that Hiiragi began to regain all his senses. He was roused from sleep by a slight shift beside him and his muddled brain prompted him to open his eyes to figure out his situation.</p><p>It wasn’t until he recognised Shizusumi’s form, now sitting up on the edge of the bed, and the smell of disinfectant that his whereabouts clicked.</p><p>Startled, he shot up from the pillow and attempted to climb out of the infirmary bed.</p><p>“How long was I asleep for?” He questioned.</p><p>The raven turned his head to towards him, grabbing his shirt sleeve before Hiiragi could completely leave the bed.</p><p>“Relax. It’s only been about two hours.”</p><p>Hiiragi groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing and opening his eyes a few times to get used to the light. His friend's carefree attitude would get them both in trouble one day.</p><p>“We should really head back…” He wasn’t the type of person who usually skipped class, only doing so on the odd occasion that he wanted to spend more time with Shizusumi but he didn’t really have an excuse prepared at the moment.</p><p>After a few seconds of staring at the Hiiragi, Shizusumi silently stood up from the bed and nodded.</p><p>“Okay let’s go then.”</p><p>The two got away with their temporary absence with a rather convincing lie that Hiiragi had conjured up on the journey there. He used his pleadingly innocent charm to lessen the scolding they were to receive and they narrowly missed having to stay back on cleaning duty after class.</p><p>He zoned out during the rest of what was left of last period, leaning his face against his hand deep in thought about his plans for this evening. He was sure he had some homework or studying to to do. Hiiragi tilted his head slightly so that he could discreetly look over at Shizusumi. <i>Oh yeah, the paper stars.</i> He was already more than half way through his endeavour.</p><p>The blond’s train of though drifted to the memory of both of them laid on the infirmary bed, close. What did it mean? Surely Shizusumi wouldn’t have initiated anything like that if he didn’t have even the slightest feelings for him, right? But then again, they had always been that close since childhood. He would find out soon enough anyway.</p><p>Too deep in his daydream, Hiiragi missed the first vibration announcing that he had a text. It wasn’t until he noticed Shizusumi looking his way that he felt the second. Secretly hooking his phone out of his pocket, he unlocked his screen and read the message.</p><p>〈From: Shizu<br/>
Hey.〉</p><p>〈To: Shizu<br/>
Hm? What’s up?〉</p><p>〈From: Shizu<br/>
You need to get some sleep tonight.〉</p><p>〈To: Shizu<br/>
But I slept a lot earlier?〉</p><p>Hiiragi looked up at the blackboard and pretended to be listening to the teacher as he waited for a reply which came three minutes later.</p><p>〈From: Shizu<br/>
Just promise me you won’t stay up late.〉</p><p>The blond’s face softened at the text. Well that was kind of unexpected. Usually he was met with more of a strong lecture from his friend but this text seeped with genuine concern. Hiiragi’s brain took this moment to reminded him of his crush on the other.</p><p>〈To: Shizu<br/>
Fine.〉</p><p>He shoved his phone back into his pocket and hastily hid his face away so Shizusumi wouldn’t catch the tint to his cheeks. He needed to stay cool and collected.</p><p>Hiiragi decided to listen to Shizusumi’s advice and took a break that night and the next day to focus on other tasks. His best friend seemed pleased about this and even bought him some extra food as a reward and an apology for making him skip class.</p><p>However, he couldn't avoid it for long. For the next week, Hiiragi carried on making twenty five stars in his spare time, making sure to take regular breaks, remembering the positive attention he got from the other, hoping and wishing to receive more.</p><p>He only had one more day left. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. He needed to make thirty nine more before the end of today and it was already getting late. Not wanting to cause more concern on the day of his confession, Hiiragi managed to power through making the rest of the paper stars, finding the process rather easy at this point, having made nine hundred and sixty already.</p><p>Feeling giddy with excitement, Hiiragi popped the final star into the jar and grinned widely, announcing.</p><p>“Nine hundred and ninety nine. Everlasting love.” He whispered the last part fondly.</p><p>With an exhausted and relieved sigh, the boy collapsed back into his bed and let his mind shut off and eyes droop shut.</p><p>He was awake before his alarm could go off. Truth be told his body had woken him up an hour early. It told him that something important was happening today and as he wracked his brain to remember, it hit him.</p><p>Today was the day he was going to confess.</p><p>Suddenly he wasn’t feeling so confident. If anything he was anxious. He had spent about a whole month making these stars, not once thinking about how Shizusumi might feel. What if he put him in the spot? Made him uncomfortable? Or even worse… didn’t return his feelings?</p><p>He was sat staring at the jar of multi pastel coloured paper stars. What if he didn’t like the colours? What if he didn’t believe in the tradition? What if-</p><p>Hiiragi stood up suddenly and made his way to shower in order to take his mind off his nagging doubts. He would just have to deal with it if he got rejected. They had been childhood friends for years, it wasn’t so bad if they had to stay like that, Hiiragi tried to convince himself anyway.</p><p>After drying off and getting ready to leave, the blond placed the jar into his bag and left.</p><p>His stomach was thumping along with his heartbeat as he stood waiting for Shizusumi at the school gates. Maybe he should have asked him to meet in a more discrete place. That way he would feel less embarrassment when, no, if Shizusumi turns him down.</p><p>But before he could fish his phone out and type a message, the boy in question made his presence known by rustling his hair.</p><p>“Why do you look so tense? Don’t tell me. Been confessed to already?” Shizusumi teased.</p><p>“W-What? No…” He stammered.</p><p>“Then why?”</p><p>“Uhm. There’s something I wanted to tell you.” Hiiragi avoided looking directly into grey eyes by focusing his attention solely on lifting the jar gently out of his bag and holding it sheepishly in front of them both.</p><p>He took a deep breath and abruptly looked up at Shizusumi as he spilled.</p><p>“Shizusumi Yagi, I… For a while now I’ve been trying to come to terms with my own feelings regarding a crush I have on a certain person. That person has undoubtedly stolen my heart, wether it be intentionally or unintentionally, and I can sincerely say with confidence, that the one that has stolen it, is you.” His voice broke under the pressure as he pushed to continue.</p><p>“This jar is a token of luck. In it contains nine hundred and ninety nine paper stars. I don’t know if you believe in the tradition… but, Shizusumi, would you… be my Valentine?” Hiiragi bit his lip hard, preparing for the inevitable response.</p><p>The blond was able to register three definite emotions that ran through the raven’s face. Surprise, shock and… amusement?</p><p>Embarrassment crept up Hiiragi’s neck and face as the stoic boy stood in front of him struggled to hold back from chuckling, failing miserably and burst out laughing.</p><p>Oh it was was beautiful sound but Hiiragi was too distracted by what he thought was a rejection.</p><p>“Okay! I get it… Haha yeah what a silly-“ Hiiragi wanted to cry, his eyes stung and he felt sick.</p><p>“Wait no, Hiiragi. Hold up.” Shizusumi smiled and reached into his bag to produce his own, larger paper star.</p><p>“I thought you’d go for a ridiculous and cheesy amount like nine hundred ninety nine, that's why you were always so tired, so I made a final one. For us.”</p><p>“Wha-“</p><p>Shizusumi set his star on top of the jars' lid and placed his hands over Hiiragi’s own.</p><p>“There isn’t a specific meaning to a thousand but-“ Shizusumi stepped closer until his forehead rested against Hiiragi’s, softly gazing into his eyes.</p><p>“- that doesn’t mean we can’t make it our own special meaning, Kashima.” Shizusumi strung out Hiiragi’s first name purposely, his intention to fluster.</p><p>“Yes. I’d love to be your Valentine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>PHEW- POSTED ONE MINUTE BEFORE VALENTINES ENDS FOR ME.</p><p>In case anyone is wondering how these numbers add up... I spent part of the three days that I took to write this, also working the specifics out. </p><p>10th; 30, 11th; 30, 12th; 30, 13th; 30, 14th; 30, 15th; 30, 16th; 30, 17th; 30, 18th; 30, 19th; 30, 20th; 25, 21st; 20, 22nd; 30, 23rd; 30, 24th; 30, 25th; 45, 26th; 30, 27th; 30, 28th; 30, 29th; 30, 30th; 22, 31st; 38, 1st; 50, 2nd; 50, 3rd and 4th; the break, 5th; 25, 6th; 25, 7th; 25, 8th; 25, 9th; 25, 10th; 25, 11th; 25, 12th; 25, 13th; 39.</p><p>Busy dude!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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